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A new season in the National Basketball Association has tipped off and thus another year of Hoosiers In The NBA has begun! Now entering it’s fourth year, I’ve gone from covering just Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller to now keeping tabs on eight former Hoosiers.

Every week I’ll go over the biggest stories regarding our roster of former IU players and have their season averages at the end of the article.

This week we have a lot to go over as the start of the season has been a very intriguing one for our former Hoosiers so let’s waste no more time and dive right in:

Things Clicking For Oladipo Back In Indiana

It took very little time for Victor Oladipo to feel at home back in the Hoosier state.

Oladipo is off to the best start of his career and it’s not even close. Here is a look at the first four games of each season by Oladipo:

There are numerous reasons as for why this season has started off better than any of his prior seasons, from just being more accustomed to the NBA game to being the focal point of the offense and getting more touches.

Yet the thing that stands out most to me is that Oladipo is going to the basket more aggressively and drawing more fouls than he’s ever done before. He’s already averaging 6.8 free throw attempts per game, almost double his career average of 3.6 free throw attempts per game.

This has led to an improved shooting percentage, always a weakness for Oladipo, as defenses are starting to respect his ability to drive past them to the rim and are thus giving him a little more shooting space.

It would be important to note that three of these games have been without the Indiana Pacers other young star Myles Turner so it will be worth monitoring Oladipo’s numbers when Turner returns as we find out who the offense will run through when both are healthy.

Gordon Continues Scoring Pace From Last Season

Eric Gordon was rejuvenated last season, there’s no other way to put it.

After five injury-riddled season with the New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans, Gordon played in 75 games (second most games he’s played in a season) during his first season with the Houston Rockets and became one of the NBA’s best sixth men and dangerous three-point shooters.

However the acquisition of Chris Paul likely meant that Gordon’s numbers would decline and we would start to see him more as a role player who would have the occasional throwback game instead of the second scoring option he was the year before.

Yet an unfortunate injury to Paul has Gordon not only back to being the secondary scorer again, but Gordon kicked it up a notch with three 20+ point games in his first four and, like Oladipo, a renewed interest in drawing fouls and going to the free throw line.

Gordon is averaging 7.8 free throw attempts through the season’s first four games, which contrasts greatly with Gordon’s last three seasons where he averaged under three attempts per game all three years.

This large amount of free throws will no doubt dwindle as the season goes along, but even half as many as he is averaging right now would mark a huge step forward for Gordon as he continues to transform his game in the second stage of his career.

Zeller Is The Back Up For Now
The offseason acquisition of Dwight Howard made Cody Zeller’s role on the Charlotte Hornets a bit of a mystery heading into the season.

After battling Al Jefferson for three years over the starting spot, Zeller finally won out and got his chance to be the starting big man last year and didn’t disappoint with career-best numbers in almost every stat category.

However he missed 20 games (tied for the most he has missed in a season) and the Hornets went a ghastly 3-17 in those games because of the lack of depth behind him at the position.

Enter Howard, who reunites with Head Coach Steve Clifford, one of his former coaches back in his Orlando Magic All-NBA years. Despite Zeller being the better player last year as well as six years younger, Howard has been awarded the starting spot mainly based on the fact that he’s a future Hall of Famer.

While this arrangement might work for now (Howard is averaging 12.7 points and 17.3 rebounds during the opening week while Zeller has only played in one of his team’s three games), history says Zeller will be the starter again by midseason. Although a bone bruise to start the season and two missed games may push that timetable back a bit.

Ferrell Is Still In The Starting Lineup
From a 10-day contract to a two-year contract and an All-Rookie 2nd team nod, Yogi Ferrell had quite the adventure during his first season in the NBA.

Looks like things will be just as crazy in year two. Ferrell, who was slotted to be the backup point guard, has started in all four of the Dallas Mavericks’ games so far this season and has been fairly impressive, especially from behind the arc where he’s shooting 52.6% from deep.

The reason Ferrell has been in the starting lineup is because of injuries.

The Mavericks used the ninth pick in the NBA draft on Dennis Smith Jr. who they have high hopes will be their franchise point guard. Unfortunately he has missed two of the Mavericks’ four games. In addition to Smith, Seth Curry has yet to play this season due to a leg injury.

Yet Ferrell has made the most of his playing time (34.5 minutes per game) and I still expect around 20 minutes a game when he eventually goes back to the bench, especially after the way he has performed this first week.

Anunoby Already Starts His Rookie Campaign

The fear of maybe missing his entire rookie season caused OG Anunoby to fall all the way to number 23 on draft night where the Toronto Raptors happily picked him.

Anunoby has repaid the Raptors’ faith in him as surprisingly he was able to participate right away in the first game of the season.

While he hasn’t done anything too special, it is fun to note that his first career points were a dunk over Quincy Pondexter and that he finished with nine points in his first NBA game.

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It took until his fourth season, but Victor Oladipo will finally get his first taste of the NBA Playoffs.

Oladipo and the Oklahoma City Thunder will face the Houston Rockets in the first round of the Western Conference Playoffs starting on Sunday. The Rockets have two former Hoosiers on the team in potential Sixth Man Of The Year Eric Gordon (who had to wait even longer than Oladipo to reach his first playoffs, taking him seven seasons) and rookie Troy Williams.

For this edition of Hoosiers In The NBA, I’m going to go over how Oladipo and Gordon performed this season and how they preformed against each other to help predict how well they’ll play in their first round matchup. I’ll also go over how much I expect Williams to play in the series and also touch on Noah Vonleh and his Portland Trail Blazers’ first round matchup with the Golden State Warriors. Lastly I’ll post the final regular season stats for all six former Hoosiers who played in the NBA this season.

Gordon Vs Oladipo

Neither player would call the 2016-2017 their best statistical season, but both Eric Gordon and Victor Oladipo would still call this their best seasons due to how well their teams performed and what role they had in the success.

Gordon embraced his role of three-point specialist off the bench for Mike D’Antoni’s Rockets and the result was a career-high 246 made three-points on 37.2% shooting. Meanwhile Oladipo went from the main ball-handler in Orlando to being Russell Westbrook’s wing man in Oklahoma City and the jump in open looks helped Oladipo shoot a career-best 36.1% from behind the arc as he was the second-leading scorer for the Thunder.

Taking a look at how they played against each other this season only highlights how much both had success from deep this season:

While I don’t expect both to hit above 40% from long range during this series, I do believe we’ll see multiple clutch threes from one or both. With both Westbrook and James Harden gathering so much attention, it may fall on a supporting player like Gordon or Oladipo to help push their team over the edge and into the next round. Regardless of the result, we’re guaranteed at least one former Hoosier will be playing in the Western Conference Semifinals.

How Much Will Williams Play?

Troy Williams deserves a lot of praise for what he has accomplished during his rookie season.

As an undrafted rookie he wowed teams during the Summer League while playing for the Phoenix Suns and while the Suns couldn’t keep him due to a logjam at the wing position, the Memphis Grizzlies did sign him to their opening night roster. After 24 games and 13 starts with the Grizzlies, Memphis decided to switch gears when it found itself unexpectedly in the playoff hunt and thus Williams was cut and sent to the NBA D-League where he had a ton of success which included winning the D-League Slam Dunk Contest.

Like Yogi Ferrell, Williams used the momentum of his D-League performance to get a second chance with the NBA, where he has had immediate success with the Houston Rockets averaging 9.7 points on 50% shooting, including 38.1% from three-point range filling in for the injured Sam Dekker. With Dekker still out for at least the first round of the playoffs, does that mean we’ll see Williams play a role in the Houston-Oklahoma City series?

That’s where things get tricky. Teams usually shorten their benches in the playoffs and since Dekker was similar to a ninth man off the bench, it wouldn’t be surprising that Williams, Dekker’s replacement, might not see the floor much when you consider a healthy Dekker would likely see his minutes dwindle. I think Williams will see the court in the first round but I wouldn’t count on him playing every game.

What To Expect Out Of Vonleh And The Trail Blazers Against The Warriors

The Portland Trail Blazers’ last 10 games proved to be a significant step forward for Noah Vonleh.

While the Trail Blazers wrapped up the last playoff spot in the Western Conference by going 7-3, Vonleh finally flashed the potential scouts saw in him when he was considered a lottery pick back in 2014. He averaged 7.6 points on 56.4% shooting and 8.6 rebounds while playing 28.1 minutes per game and recording three double-doubles.

Vonleh hopes that his recent performance carries over into the postseason after failing to score and only grabbing four rebounds in six postseason games last year. Luckily he’ll be playing against a team in the Golden State Warriors that he has had some success against this season:

While those numbers may seem a little underwhelming, it’s worth noting that the last time Vonleh faced the Warriors was still before the All-Star Break. In 48 games before the All-Star Break, Vonleh averaged 3.2 points on 40.7% shooting and 4.2 rebounds. In the 26 games after the All-Star Break, Vonleh has averaged 6.7 points on 57.5% shooting and 7.2 rebounds. Needless to say, I expect Vonleh to play much better this time around against the Warriors.

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While not a single former Indiana Hoosier was moved at the NBA Trade Deadline this season, each team that has a former Hoosier did make at least one trade in preparation for the home stretch of this NBA regular season. So this time on Hoosiers In The NBA, I’ll go over the moves the Dallas Mavericks (Yogi Ferrell), Charlotte Hornets (Cody Zeller), Oklahoma City Thunder (Victor Oladipo), Portland Trail Blazers (Noah Vonleh), and Houston Rockets (Eric Gordon) made and how they affect our former Hoosiers.

Houston Rockets

Got Lou Williams from the Los Angeles Lakers for Corey Brewer and an unprotected first Round Pick in 2017

Sent K.J. McDaniels to the Brooklyn Nets for cap space

Sent Tyler Ennis to the Los Angeles Lakers for Marcelo Huertas

While at first it may sound redundant to add Lou Williams when you already have Eric Gordon, it actually isn’t for a team that plays like the Houston Rockets.

Recently removed from a game where they attempted 58 three-pointers, the Rockets try to put as many shooters on the floor as possible. Williams offers another shooter off the bench and adds insurance in case Gordon or starter Patrick Beverley miss extensive time due to injury.

Williams and Gordon can also play as a backcourt duo and are capable veterans with good enough passing skills to work well off another. Maybe most importantly they could give some much needed rest for James Harden near the end of the regular season.

As for the other two moves, they were in preparation of creating enough cap space if the right buyout candidate becomes available. Even if they don’t sign someone, neither player was playing much if at all for the team.

Charlotte Hornets

Got Miles Plumlee from the Milwaukee Bucks for Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes

Got Chris Andersen and cash from the Cleveland Cavaliers for a top-55 protected 2017 second round pick

Waived Chris Andersen

The importance of Cody Zeller to the Charlotte Hornets was made abundantly clear from the team’s actions during the trade deadline. Despite needing to fix numerous issues if they want to regroup and make the playoffs, the Hornets felt it was most necessary to get insurance for Zeller (who has already missed 20 games this season).

Miles Plumlee may be an unnecessarily expensive contract, but he’s still a very capable backup who poses no threat to taking Zeller’s starting spot away. Unfortunately he only played a couple of games before getting injured and is expected to be out for a week or two so the move has backfired on the Hornets at the moment.

The other move was a simple buyout. Knowing this, the Cleveland Cavaliers agreed to be compensated with a second round pick that won’t go to them unless the Hornets somehow make the Eastern Conference Finals.

Portland Trail Blazers

Got Jusuf Nurkic and a top-five protected first round pick in 2017 from the Denver Nuggets for Mason Plumlee, a 2018 second round pick, and cash

This was a very interesting trade as I did not expect the Portland Trail Blazers to part with a player who has been as valuable as Mason Plumlee.

Now what does this mean for Noah Vonleh? Well Jusuf Nurkic uses a lot more post-ups than Plumlee, and that might mean more open shots for Vonleh if Nurkic gets going and starts getting double-teamed. It has been 15 games since Vonleh attempted his last three-pointer and while I don’t expect him to start jacking up deep balls in the near future, this may be a chance to get some confidence from long range.

It will be very important that Vonleh improves playing with Nurkic because the Trail Blazers also received a first round pick in next year’s draft from the Nuggets, giving Portland potentially three of the first 30 picks this summer. It would be crazy to think the Trail Blazers wouldn’t draft someone to challenge Vonleh with one of those picks so Vonleh needs to start improving quickly.

Dallas Mavericks

Got Nerlens Noel from the Philadelphia 76ers for Andrew Bogut, Justin Anderson, and top-18 protected first round pick in 2017

Waived Deron Williams

While the most important move the Dallas Mavericks made this past week was trading for Nerlens Noel in hopes of him becoming Tyson Chandler 2.0, the move that affected former Hoosier Yogi Ferrell the most was management’s decision to waive Deron Williams and thus hand over the starting point guard position to Ferrell for at least the rest of the season.

While he already signed a two-year contract with the Mavs earlier in the month, whether that involves him starting or playing backup has yet to be determined. The early returns show a lot of positives for Ferrell becoming the long-term starter. He has averaged 13.2 points, 4.8 assists, and 1.6 steals in his nine starts and the Mavericks sport a 6-3 record in those games. Now that he has been given the chance, Ferrell just needs to keep up his level of play and he’ll remain the staring point guard going into next season.

Oklahoma City Thunder

Got Taj Gibson, Doug McDermott and a 2018 second round pick from the Chicago Bulls for Cameron Payne, Anthony Morrow, and Joffery Lauvergne

This was a huge trade for the Oklahoma City Thunder for multiple reasons. It gives a bench unit that has struggled two players that can score in double figures on any night. It adds depth up front and on the wing, two areas that were a little lacking.

Most importantly it signals that Victor Oladipo is about to have a much bigger role on the Thunder. The departure of Cameron Payne means that Semaj Christon is the backup point guard for those instances when Russell Westbrook needs to rest. While Christon is okay, this might be a chance for Oladipo to play the role of main ball handler again.

The addition of Doug McDermott also may allow Oladipo to move around the court more and get back to some of his slashing playstyle. The Thunder didn’t have a ton of three-point threats to space the floor and thus relied on Oladipo to stay along the perimeter to create that space. While it has led to an improved three-point shot from Oladipo, it has limited him from doing some of the other things he does well like drawing fouls on drives to the bucket or grabbing more rebounds. McDermott can potentially be that spacer that can let Oladipo show off some of his other skills.

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Even though All-Star Weekend is still a few weeks away, each team has already played more than half of their regular season games, meaning we have technically passed the halfway point of the season. Let’s take this time to grade how each former Hoosier is doing so far this season based on expectations coming into this season. Let’s start with the two rookies:

Midseason Review: After 10 decent but not that memorable games with the Brooklyn Nets, Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell was given a second chance this past weekend when he signed a 10-day contract with the Dallas Mavericks. Since signing that contract he’s started two games and has led the last-place Mavericks to wins against the San Antonio Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

While he will likely see a big reduction in playing time once Deron Williams comes back, Ferrell’s two performances should warrant at minimum another 10-day contract from the Mavericks. He’s making the most of this opportunity after being limited during his stay with the Nets, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he ends up signing a permanent contract either with the Mavericks or with another NBA team in need of solid point guard play.

Midseason Review: Like Ferrell, Troy Williams also had a chance to show off what he could do for the Memphis Grizzlies earlier in the season. While he held his own on the court, it wasn’t enough as he was buried on the bench when the Grizzlies became healthier and just this past week was released to make room for Toney Douglas.

However, that doesn’t mean Williams has had a bad season. While he still has a lot to work on, the fact that he averaged a steal per game is very impressive. He’s become a very hard worker and a serviceable defender. I expect the Grizzlies to call him back up to the roster before the end of the season if another team doesn’t pick him up on waivers before then.

Midseason Review: Eric Gordon has been a perfect fit in Houston as he is by far the leading candidate for Sixth Man Of The Year. His chemistry with James Harden has been awesome, and the way he’s turned the Rockets’ bench from a weakness to a strength has helped make this a dangerous team.

The only reason I’m not giving Gordon a perfect grade is because his performance has slipped the past month. In particular, he’s shot a shockingly bad 29.8% on three-pointers during the month of January and is attempting an astounding 10.3 deep balls a game.

He’s also missed four games in the last three weeks, which isn’t normally bad but considering Gordon’s injury history and the fact that he hadn’t missed a game until recently, there may be some worry about whether or not he’s slowing down. Overall he’s still having a phenomenal season but not enough for a perfect grade.

Midseason Review: When Kevin Durant left the Oklahoma City Thunder, a lot of people , including myself, thought Victor Oladipo would see a huge statistical jump as he became Russell Westbrook’s new running partner and maybe even get some All-Star buzz.

Instead we have a slightly overall improved Oladipo with a greatly improved three-point shot. Now to be fair, I don’t think many predicted that Westbrook would put forth a superhuman effort and sustain it through an entire season like he’s currently doing. As a result, there aren’t as many extra points to go around as first thought.

The next step for Oladipo is to become more aggressive and earn Westbrook’s trust enough to help burden the scoring load. That likely won’t happen this season as Westbrook looks like a man on a mission to prove he can carry a team by himself, but little by little we’re seeing Oladipo and Westbrook connect and soon we may get that All-Star level play from Oladipo. But for now Oladipo gets credit for his most efficient shooting season of his career.

Midseason Review: Until recently, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed in Noah Vonleh’s progress. He was playing fewer minutes and was abandoning the three-point shot altogether. Thankfully things have changed recently.

Last season, Vonleh was placed in the starting lineup to carve out playing time for him and also to get his game going. The result was 4.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game on 42.2% shooting during his 56 starts compared to 2.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game on 41.7% shooting coming off the bench.

Two weeks ago, Vonleh was again placed in the starting lineup to get him going and he’s shown a much larger improvement in the role this season. During his nine starts, he’s averaging 5.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per game on 46.2% shooting compared to 2.7 points and 3.0 rebounds on 39.5% shooting coming off the bench. While not a huge jump from last season, it is the first noticeable improvement we’ve seen out of Vonleh this season and hopefully points to more improvement down the road.

Midseason Review: Finally out of the shadow of Al Jefferson, Cody Zeller is flourishing as the starting center of the Charlotte Hornets. In fact he’s starting to play like the Cody Zeller that all Indiana Hoosier fans remember fondly.

A master of setting screens, Zeller helps the Hornets offense flow and serves as the perfect pick-and-roll partner for Kemba Walker. He’s also finally shooting at a high rate as his 59% shooting is such a drastic improvement from the 42.6% he shot three years ago during his rookie season. He’s also averaging double-digit points for the first time in his NBA career.

The only negative is that all the extra playing time has led to Zeller taking a bigger beating than usual and the result is 10 missed games. He’s shown he has the skill to be a good center in this league, but can he physically keep up against bigger guys? I think he will eventually but right now he’s getting accustomed to handling the bigger responsibility.

NOTE:Hello everyone and welcome to a new edition of Hoosiers In The NBA! Please try to spread the word by liking it on Facebook or retweeting this on Twitter if you enjoyed it. Of course this is completely optional but it is greatly appreciated. Otherwise I hope you enjoy this latest edition and for more coverage follow me on twitter at @QTipsForSports or just look for the hashtag #HoosiersInTheNBA:

It’s been awhile since we last checked in on our former Indiana Hoosiers currently playing in the NBA (a month to be specific) so to make up for it I will be giving a recap of what each Hoosier did in the month of December. It was a busy month that contained D-League transfers, injuries, and award-caliber play. So without further ado, let’s get started with the two players who are currently not playing in the NBA at the moment.

Everyone knew Yogi Ferrell’s stay in the NBA would be temporary this time around and after 10 decent games he returned to the Brooklyn Nets’ D-League affiliate.

Yet you can tell that his short time in the NBA had a positive affect on his game as he’s been great playing for the Long Island Nets. In eight games, Ferrell is averaging 19.5 points, 2.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.5 steals per game. In addition, he’s shooting 47% from the floor and 39.6% from three-point range. If Ferrell can continue to play like he did this month, you can expect the Nets to move him back to NBA sooner rather than later.

Although Troy Williams went from NBA starter to playing in the D-League during the course of December, it was actually a very positive month for the undrafted rookie.

Williams showed some promise as a starter, averaging 8.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.5 steals in 13 starts for the Memphis Grizzlies. However, there are still many things he needs to work on and that’s why he’s now playing for the Iowa Energy.

This is actually a great sign as the Grizzlies like what they see from Williams and want him to continue to develop. Unfortunately on a healthy Grizzlies team there just isn’t enough playing time for Williams to get the necessary experience to improve his game, as he has only played an average of 5.7 minutes during the 11 games he has come off the bench. WIth the Iowa Energy he will have all the tools and playing time to work on his game, and you can already see the results as he’s averaging 24.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.7 steals in 27.8 minutes through his first three games in the D-League.

In my last Hoosiers In The NBA article, I went over how Eric Gordon was successfully transitioning into the Houston Rockets’ sixth man. Since then, not only has Gordon continued to excel in that role, but he’s also become one of the early favorites for the Sixth Man of the Year award.

Gordon is averaging 17.9 points per game in just 29.8 minutes. While that is quite impressive, the main reason he’s become one of the top contenders is because of his ridiculous three-point shooting. Gordon made the transition two seasons ago to becoming a three-point specialist when he made a career-high 44.8% from deep. This season he’s nearing that rate as he’s made 43% of his attempts. In December alone, his long-range efficiency went to another level as he attempted 9.3 three-pointers per game and made 47% of them.

Add in the fact that the Rockets are 21-5 with Gordon coming off the bench compared to 4-4 with him starting, and you’ll have a tough task finding anyone more deserving of “Best Sixth Man” than Gordon right now.

Near the end of November, it felt like Victor Oladipo was finally getting comfortable playing with all of his new teammates on the Oklahoma City Thunder. The dynamic backcourt of Oladipo and Russell Westbrook was starting to spark.

Unfortunately that was short-lived as Oladipo injured his shooting wrist on December 11th and hasn’t played a game since. Amazingly enough the team continues to chug along with Westbrook playing even more superhuman than before.

However with nine missed games and counting, you have to worry about whether or not Oladipo will continue his development where he left off or if this wrist injury will linger the rest of the season and prevent us from seeing the full potential of the Westbrook-Oladipo show. In my opinion, I actually think it’s a good sign that the Thunder haven’t let him play yet as maybe they’re waiting until he’s 100% before bringing him back so the injury doesn’t linger.

Aside from a couple of starts in the middle of the month because of frontcount injuries, there wasn’t anything noteworthy that happened to Noah Vonleh in December. However, when you look at Vonleh’s season as a whole you’ll find a very interesting trend.

His three-point shooting has completely disappeared, as Vonleh only attempted one long ball during the month of December. The last time Vonleh made a three-pointer was on November 17th against the Houston Rockets, which also marks the last time he attempted more than one three-pointer in a game. One of the biggest skills Vonleh had going for him as a prospect was the ability to shoot from long range and thus play stretch forward or even a small-ball center. Now Portland is using Vonleh like a traditional big man, and while it may just be a short-term position, seeing Vonleh’s three-point attempts fall from 16 in November to just one in December is a bit eye-popping.

Cody Zeller continues to grow into the position of starting center for the Charlotte Hornets, and he also proved that his career-best season wasn’t an early-season fluke.

Zeller averaged 10.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks during the month of December, and while those stats are all pretty good for what is asked of him, the most important average Zeller put up was the 28.9 minutes per game.

With a career average of 22.1 minutes per game, Zeller has always had to split time at center with another player. The first three years it was Al Jefferson, and even though I thought Zeller wouldn’t have to split minutes with anyone this season, the Hornets made it clear in the preseason that Roy Hibbert and Spencer Hawes would split time with Zeller. Yet after a month where all three were healthy and Zeller still posted the his highest minutes per game in a single month, it seems like Zeller is finally getting the playing time he deserves.

NOTE:Hello everyone and welcome to a new edition of Hoosiers In The NBA! Please try to spread the word by liking it on Facebook or retweeting this on Twitter if you enjoyed it. Of course this is completely optional but it is greatly appreciated. Otherwise I hope you enjoy this latest edition and for more coverage follow me on twitter at @QTipsForSports or just look for the hashtag #HoosiersInTheNBA:

Stat Comparison: Gordon As A Starter Vs Gordon As A Reserve

When James Harden moved to point guard, the idea of starting him along with Eric Gordon became a very intriguing idea from an offensive standpoint. However, with both players being less than stellar defenders it made more sense to have a plus defender start alongside Harden.

With Patrick Beverly finally healthy and Gordon fully entrenched in his role as sixth man, I wanted to compare Gordon’s performance as a starter to his performance off the bench:

One of the first things that stands out is that while Gordon’s statistical numbers are similar in both roles, the Houston Rockets have a much better record when Gordon comes off the bench, going 7-3 in those games compared to just 4-4 in games where Gordon starts.

Gordon has also had his best games this season when playing the role of sixth man, as four of his five 20+ point games have come in games he hasn’t started.

At the end of the day, the Rockets’ success will be tied to how well Harden plays, but it’s worth noting that Gordon is turning into a big asset for the Rockets as a secondary scorer coming off the bench.

Williams’s Chance To Start

The Memphis Grizzlies went through an injury apocalypse last season and this season isn’t starting off any better as the recent injury to Mike Conley is yet another blow to a promising team that is already without some key players.

For Troy Williams it’s somewhat bittersweet as two of those injured teammates are the players ahead of him on the depth chart (Chandler Parsons and James Ennis). As a result, Williams has been given the opportunity to start the past two games and will likely get a few more starts before one or both return in the next week or two.

During his second career start and first since November 1st, Williams played a huge role in helping the Grizzlies beat the Miami Heat as he scored a career-high 18 points, including two clutch three-pointers in the fourth quarter that put the Grizzlies ahead.

While he’ll likely be relegated back to the bench soon, there’s a lot of hope that his performance these few starts will give him the confidence to make a bigger impact when comes off the bench in the future.

NOTE:Hello everyone and welcome to a new edition of Hoosiers In The NBA! Please try to spread the word by liking it on Facebook or retweeting this on Twitter if you enjoyed it. Of course this is completely optional but it is greatly appreciated. Otherwise I hope you enjoy this latest edition and for more coverage follow me on twitter at @QTipsForSports or just look for the hashtag #HoosiersInTheNBA:

Ferrell Impresses During First Week In The NBA

With both of their point guards injured, the Brooklyn Nets looked to their D-League affiliate to find a fill-in point guard. Thus the NBA career of Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell began.

Now a member of the 15-man roster, Ferrell had a strong first week in the Association. What was most impressive was the fact that he performed very well in aspects of the game that many scouts feared he would struggle. The biggest worry was that due to his size he wouldn’t be able to create his own shot. However, Ferrell has shot 11 of 22 (50%) from the floor and has adapted well to the NBA three-point line, hitting 5 of 11 (45.5%) from deep.

Another question was if Ferrell could actually play the role of ball-handler or would he just become an off-ball shooter. Ferrell has answered that by posting a 2:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, quite possibly the most important point guard stat.

It’s unknown how much playing time Ferrell will continue to get when injured point guards Jeremy Lin and Isaiah Whitehead are back at 100%, but Nets Head Coach Kenny Atkinson seems to like what he has seen from Ferrell and may find a way to keep Yogi in the rotation.

Oladipo’s Shift In Statistics

I think everyone expected Victor Oladipo’s stats to change quite a bit this season. After all, he’s on a new team that would use him differently based on the pre-existing personnel. Yet the specific stats that have changed are very intriguing.

The biggest statistical difference is in his three-point shooting. This was somewhat expected, as the attention opposing defenses place on Russell Westbrook would undoubtedly lead to more open three-point opportunities. Yet Oladipo is not only shooting better from deep, but he’s also taking quite a few more as well. During his three years with the Orlando Magic, Oladipo averaged 3.4 three-point shot attempts per game and made 33.9% of those attempts. So far this season, Oladipo is taking 5.1 three-point shots per game and is hitting on 37.5% of those shots.

For as much progress as Oladipo has made on his outside shooting, being parked on the perimeter and playing off-ball has caused a small dip in rebounds and a drastic drop in assists. After averaging four of each during his time in Orlando, he’s only averaging 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in Oklahoma City.

Yet the biggest surprise is the one number that hasn’t moved at all: his overall scoring. With Kevin Durant gone, there seemed to be plenty of points available for Oladipo to possibly approach 20 per game. Instead, Oladipo has only scored 20 or more points in three of his 11 games and has also scored single-digit points in two of those games. Of course the season is still early, but so far we’ve seen Oladipo become more of a three-point specialist than a potential All-Star.